THE WORD OF GOD

It means in the world of medicine, there is no concept of ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’. The whole of humanity should come together to alleviate the sufferings of health hazards. Medical findings of one nation should be used without reservation by other nations. It is also reported that the Prophet took medicine sniffed by nose. (Sahih Muslim) It means medicines can be administered through various routes. One should not make it an issue if the route of administration is new. To prevent the spread of highly communicable diseases, people are advised to follow social distancing and living under quarantine. Is it against the spirit of religion and humanity? The Prophet Muhammad once said: Whoever hears that there is an outbreak of plague in some land, he should not go to that land, and if the plague breaks out in the land where one is already present, one should not run away from that land, escaping from the plague. (Sahih Muslim) If a person is living in the area of the plague or pandemic, he should stay united with his people. He should not behave selfishly. He should not think of just his well-being. He should not forsake his people for his safety. On the other hand, if one hears of such a situation in any other place, then it would be unwise to travel there. This will increase the burden of that place which itself is suffering. One should do one’s utmost to provide aid to that place. According to another Hadith: The sick should not mix with the healthy. (Sahih Muslim) The method of putting the sick in quarantine is a time-tested and scientific approach to prevent people from getting infected. One should follow this practice in cases of rampant infection. In the delegation of Thaqif, a man who was infected by leprosy was intending to give pledge to the Prophet, but the Prophet told him: “Go back; we have accepted your pledge.” This was a religious event. Still, the Prophet thought of the prevention from disease. He followed no-contact protocol. Is there any special supplication that we can read in such times? For such trying times, the Prophet asked us to pray this: Remove the harm O Lord of the People! You are the one who heals and there is no healing except Yours, heal us with a healing which does not leave any disease behind. (Sahih al-Bukhari) o